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2012­13
Annual
Program Plan
Name of Program:
Basic Skills Math
Name of Unit:
Math & Sciences
Name of Area:
Academic Affairs
Date Completed: 10/19/2011
Program's Mission Statement
The Basic Skills Program at Rio Hondo College is dedicated to building strong foundational skills for
all students that will prepare them for the mathematical content of vocational programs, advanced l
evels of mathematics required for transfer level courses, and lifelong learning.
Program's Overarching Outcomes ­ SLOs / SAOs
The Basic Skills Program will increase the persistence and success of students in the basic skills cour
ses.
Faculty and staff involved in the Basic Skills Program will support students by promoting a positive v
ision of mathematics and providing multiple pathways for completion of coursework.
Program's Characteristics, Performance and Trends
Currently included in the Basic Skills Program are Math 20-Basic Mathematics; Math 30-Pre-Algebr
a; Math 50-Elementary Algebra; Math 60-Geometry; Math 70-Intermediate Algebra; and Math 72.
All courses are offered in a traditional format as lecture courses ranging from 3 semester units (3 ho
urs a week) to 4 semester units (4 hours a week). Elementary Algebra and Intermediate Algebra are
4 unit courses that meet 5 hours a week. Most classes meet twice a week. Some of the 5 hours cours
es have a four-day schedule.
Math 20, Math 30, Math 50 and Math 70 are also offered as a self-paced course through the MSC. M
ath 30, Math 50, and Math 70 are offered as on-line courses. Math 50 and Math 70 are offered as hy
brid courses, part traditional and part on line.
We are designing a pilot program as another pathway through the developmental math sequence. Th
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is pathway will allow students to accelerate their completion of the graduation requirements and pro
gression to a college level math course. This redesign will eliminate overlap between courses and m
odularize the content for mastery learning. These courses will require computerized classrooms wit
h individual student stations.
This course redesign is driven by results colleges across the nation have shown in improving in reten
tion, success, and persistence in their developmental math courses. Our redesign pilot will build upo
n the best practices of these successful programs.
There are 18 full time math faculty and 28 part time math faculty who teach basic skills math courses
. These courses make up 78% of all mathematics courses at Rio Hondo College. The Math and Scien
ce Center (MSC) provides four self-paced courses in the basic skills and tutoring for all levels of Mat
h and Science. The Center is staffed by 5 instructors, 3 instructional assistants, 7 clerks, and approxi
mately 18 tutors. There are approximately 300 students enrolled in the self-paced courses and appr
oximately 600 students who use the center for studying and for tutoring.
The Basic Skills Program has remained steady over the last five years with the growth limited by the
number of faculty and classroom space available. The number of students choosing on-line courses h
as been growing. The success and retention rates have remained the same. We are not content with
these rates staying the same, so we are concentrating our efforts on the redesign pilot.
The new graduation requirement may affect the performance of the program in that the students hav
e an extra class to complete for the AA or AS degree.
**Updated data for the 2012-2013 program year**
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Program's Strengths
Students have the choice of a variety of outstanding instructors to choose from to help them achieve
their goals. The hiring process ensures that our instructors are willing and qualified to teach basic sk
ills courses.
Students have a choice of a variety of delivery systems: traditional classroom environment, on-line, h
ybrid courses, and self-paced program.
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Program's Weaknesses
Despite having qualified and dedicated instructors and multiple pathways for our students, retention
and success rates have remained static. This dilemma is a national problem and has triggered redesi
gn efforts across the country. Our goal with our redesign is to improve our retention, success and pe
rsistence rates in our developmental math courses.
Many students are turned away from basic skills math classes because the department has an insuffic
ient number of faculty and classroom to offer the number of sections needed. Because of this, class si
zes are too large in many cases. Students get less individual attention.
Some students are not being placed into the appropriate math class. An evaluation of the assessment
process needs to be done with improvements made as deemed necessary. We are addressing this pr
oblem as well in our math redesign which will focus on mastery learning.
Because "C" students struggle the most, instructors need to target these students at the beginning of
the semester to encourage them and alert them to the services available to help them. Additional sof
tware will be explored to enhance the opportunities for success for these and all students.
Program's Opportunities
Over the last five years, the delivery methods for instruction have expanded and technological suppo
rt for classroom instruction has increased. The program, and the redesign pilot in particular, will co
ntinue to explore additional software opportunities to enable the students to be more successful.
In order implement the best practices of successful redesign programs, we must have additional class
rooms with individual computer stations for students. This could be achieved with more computer l
ab space or with portable laptop stations for our current classrooms. The success of these programs
is dependent on each student having computer access during class. All students will be doing math in
class as opposed to watching a math lecture.
A new requirement for graduation with an AS or AA degree has been added. Students who want to e
arn the degree must have one additional math course beyond elementary algebra. As a result, a new
course has been developed.
There is a college-wide need to continue SLO development.
College-wide cyclical planning has begun and needs to continue.
Program's Threats
Without individual computers for each student in a classroom, our redesign pilot cannot be impleme
nted at Rio Hondo College.
Many students are not able to add the math classes they need for their graduation and/or transfer re
quirements. Hundreds of students wishing to add basic skills math classes are turned away each sem
ester.
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Program's Accomplishments and Recommendations for Improvement
The Basic Skills Program is strong, viable, and stable. There are always more students wanting to ta
ke courses than there is space in the classes.
One additional course (Math 72) has been added to meet the new guidelines for graduation with an A
S or AA degree.
We hope to implement our math redesign pilot in the Fall of 2012. Data from other colleges have sh
own noted improvement in retention, success and persistence as a result of this type of redesign. We
recommend that the college support the redesign efforts so that more students reach their graduatio
n goals here at Rio Hondo College.
"C" students are less successful. We need to target them early in the semester to try and improve the
ir vision of math as an area where they can be successful.
Program's Strategic Direction
Our current levels of retention and success mirror results in other two-year colleges nationally. We
are not content with being as good as everyone else, we want to be measurably better.
We are designing a pilot program as another pathway through the developmental math sequence. Th
is pathway will allow students to accelerate their completion of the graduation requirements and pro
gression to a college level math course. This redesign will eliminate overlap between courses and m
odularize the content for mastery learning. These courses will require computerized classrooms wit
h individual student stations.
This course redesign is driven by results colleges across the nation have shown in improving in reten
tion, success, and persistence in their developmental math courses. Our redesign pilot will build upo
n the best practices of these successful programs.
The department will continue to find additional classrooms to add more sections as the budget allow
s. In particular, we will need computer lab space or portable laptop carts to implement our math red
esign pilot program
Program's Staff Development
The Math Department meets on a monthly basis to consider curriculum issues, explore math softwar
e for use in the classroom, work on SLOs and communicate departmental needs.
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To allow the faculty to become updated in the latest trends in technology, they are be encouraged to
attend conferences such as ICTCM, AMATYC, and NCAT. These conferences are essential for networ
king with faculty members at other colleges who are contemplating and/or instituting math redesign
.
The math department will decide on one standard software to be used in the redesign pilot to enable
the students to be more successful in their developmental math courses. We are currently in the proc
ess of exploring our options so as to choose the software that best fits in the redesign.
Goal #1 Short term (1 year)
Corresponds with Institutional Goal # 3
Status: in progress Description of Goal
To complete the planning process for the math redesign pilot.
Evaluation of Goal
Curriculum for the redesign submitted and approved by the Curriculum Committee for implementat
ion in Fall 2012.
Objective #1.1
Status: in progress Select software for the redesign.
Existing Resources
Flex time or department meeting time to meet with software representatives, compare software an
d vote on final selection.
Objective #1.2
Status: in progress Determine consistent class structure for the redesign.
Existing Resources
Flex time, Basic Skills stipend, Department meeting time.
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Goal #2 Long term (2-5 years)
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Corresponds with Institutional Goal # 3 Status: in progress Description of Goal
Implement the math redesign pilot starting in the Fall of 2012.
Evaluation of Goal
Are these courses up and running in the Fall of 2012?
Objective #2.1
Status: in progress Acquire lab space and classroom computers.
Existing Resources
24 computers in S301
Resources Needed: Additional Technology
Technology Classification: Computer Hardware
Requested Amount: $4,200.00
Description:
6 desktop computers with internet access.
Reason:
Have 30 classroom computers in S301 for use in the math redesign pilot.
Location: S301
New or Replacement: New Installation
Services Required: Electricity, Internet Access, College Network Access, Hardware Support
Technology Classification: Computer Hardware
Requested Amount: $21,000.00
Description:
A mobile classroom set up laptops. This estimate is for 40 laptops with 2 mobile charging stations.
This set could be used for one large class or for two smaller classes if some of the students could bri
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ng their own laptops. This estimate is based on $500 for each laptop times 40 plus $500 for each m
obile charging cart (per 20 computers). We could use the existing college network for internet acces
s or purchase a wireless hub for the class set.
Reason:
Having a mobile computer lab would enable us to schedule more math redesign pilot classes. In add
ition to S301 as a fixed lab, having a mobile lab would provide more options for scheduling the cour
ses.
Location: Math & Science Division S233
New or Replacement: New Installation
Services Required: Internet Access, College Network Access
Objective #2.2
Status: in progress Schedule the redesign pilot classes.
Existing Resources
Current classrooms (if laptop carts are funded) and full time use of S301.
Objective #2.3
Status: in progress Inform and educate the campus community, including counselors, students and faculty, of the redesi
gn pilot.
Existing Resources
Math faculty and counselors.
Goal #3 Long term (2-5 years)
Corresponds with Institutional Goal # 3 Status: in progress Description of Goal
Show improvements in retention, success and persistence of students in our redesign math courses.
Evaluation of Goal
Data will be collected on an ongoing basis to evaluate how the redesign pilot compares to the other
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modes of instruction.
Objective #3.1
Status: in progress Increase our rates by 5% in the redesign classes compared to the other delivery styles.
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Individuals Who Participated in Developing this Plan
The following people acknowledge that they participated in the development of or reviewed this
plan.
Name
Role
1. Okelberry Gonzalez, Lydia Program Manager
2. Hemenway, Elaine
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